Into The Dark Black Forest
by Dark Amystika
Summary: Based on Dark Black Forest. Be careful how good you get at DDR. There's someone waiting for you to dance for him forever in the Dark Black Forest...please R&R.
1. The New Dancer

Disclaimer: I don't own any DDR stuff, or Phantom of the Opera (though I sure as hell wish I did, I'd kill Raoul), and all that jazz, but I do own the characters ya don't recognize (except maybe Holly since she's mentioned in the song, and I personified the guy who talks to her, so does that count as owning them?). Yeah, uh, just read please, I don't know what I'm talking about...  
  
The New Dancer  
  
"It's a long way to go, Holly," said the mysterious stranger on the horse as he pulled Holly up onto the horse in front of him.  
  
"I know," replied 14-year-old Holly. "But I'm afraid. Where are we going?"  
  
"Into the Dark Black Forest," said the stranger. As he spoke those words, a portal appeared in the air before them and they went through it. Strange music played, music that Holly recognized from her favourite video game, DDRMax. The song was, ironically, called "Dark Black Forest (Short Trip)". They found themselves in a dark black forest, walking a path of black sand that snaked through the forest.  
  
"Look around you, Holly," the stranger said. "What do you see?" Holly looked. All around her, she saw people. More specifically, dancers. Most specifically, dancers dancing moves from various DDR games. She could only hear "Dark Black Forest" playing, but she recognized moves from "End Of The Century" and "Midnight Blaze". No one looked up as they passed, with the exception of one girl. She was all alone in her dancing area, but she looked up as the horse passed. And she gave the stranger behind Holly the most venomous, murderous look that Holly had ever seen. She was breathing hard from dancing very difficult moves that could only be found under the Maniac setting or the hardest setting of the particular DDR game you were playing. There were flames dancing in the centre of her flashing green- silver eyes. Her thick, dark hair hung in a naturally gold-streaked braid to the small of her back, though a few sweaty strands hung in her face. She never missed a beat of her dance, albeit she didn't seem to be enjoying it. She looked about Holly's age, maybe a year or two older, but in her face, especially her eyes, was a deep pain and a wisdom no teenager had. Holly was very intrigued by her, but they rode on without stopping.  
  
"Why are they all dancing?" she asked the stranger. "Who are they?"  
  
"They are dancing because it pleases me to see them dance," replied the stranger. "They never stop. I do not wish for them to stop. They are the best DDR dancers in the world. And you will join them." The last bit was not a question or a suggestion. It was a statement. Holly was suddenly very frightened, but she could go nowhere while the stranger held her on the horse. Not far from the mysterious girl was a castle, which Holly and her captor now approached. The music ended and the horse stopped in front of the castle doors.  
  
"This is my realm," the stranger said. "I find the best dancers and bring them here to dance for me. Forever. They do not age, they cannot die. They need nothing to keep them going. And now I've a new dancer to add to my collection. You."  
  
"No!" shouted Holly. She jumped off the horse and ran, only to be seized by two strong men and dragged back to the stranger. She screamed and struggled, biting and clawing desperately, trying every trick she knew to get free. It was all to no avail. She was held, breathing hard, in front of the stranger. He just smiled at her.  
  
"Fiery," he commented. "Good. You'll give a most satisfying dance with that kind of energy. I made an excellent choice. As usual."  
  
"Bit of a Narcissist, aren't you?" spat Holly. "And what if I hadn't run, hmm? What if I didn't have that kind of energy?"  
  
"Then you'd dance slower dances," replied the stranger with a careless shrug. To his guards he said, "Put her with Fire Spirit." The men nodded and dragged Holly off. She fought again, not expecting a result, just fighting because she was furious and scared. She was taken to the mysterious girl from before. On the ground beneath and beside the girl were arrows. DDR arrows. They lit up as the girl danced on them, and Holly knew she was to dance on the vacant ones beside her. The men held Holly in the centre of the unfilled arrows and one said something strange in her ear. She gasped as she felt something strange flowing through her. It was not a pleasant feeling, but not painful either. The men backed off. Holly tried to run, but couldn't move as she wished anymore. She began to dance to DDR music she could hear in her head. She hissed curses at the men, but they just nodded and left. Holly couldn't believe this was real. This had to be a bad dream. No, it wasn't. She was dancing for the perverse pleasure of some creature who didn't give a damn about human rights and freedom. He only cared about satisfying his own desires and cared nothing for what it did to others. Frightened and a little nauseas, she began to cry. After a few minutes, she didn't know how long, she stopped.  
  
"Though it was futile, your vicious fight back there was a valiant effort," said a gentle voice next to her. Holly looked over and saw the strange girl looking at her. "I shed tears too when I was brought here. Not to be heartless, but I'm afraid they'll serve no purpose here. He doesn't care if you're happy or sad. I overcame my sorrow by replacing it with passionate hate and fury. But deal with yours how you wish, I'm not one to dictate. If tears ease your pain, shed as many as you will, and I'll stand by you. Not because I've no freedom of movement to go anywhere I please, but because I was once in your position." Holly wiped her face and eyes and the girl smiled. "Feel better?" she asked.  
  
"A-a little," said Holly, wheezing slightly. "Thank you." The mysterious girl nodded.  
  
"What's you name?" she asked.  
  
"Holly. Holly Hemlock. Who are you?" she replied.  
  
The girl looked distantly sad as she replied, "I was once Celaeno Duquesne. But that was a long time ago." She blinked and Holly thought she might cry. 'No, no of course not, she gave up on fruitless tears,' she thought.  
  
"What do you mean you were once Celaeno Duquesne?" asked Holly.  
  
"I was the youngest daughter of Erik and Katrianne Duquesne. They had an elder daughter, but she never married. She certainly didn't die a virgin, though, I'll tell you that!" said Celaeno. "How old do you think I am, Holly?" she asked.  
  
"About my age, fourteen. Maybe a little older. Why?" asked Holly. A mirthless smiled spread slowly over Celaeno's face.  
  
"I was fourteen once. That was when I was brought here. And that was many, many years ago. I can't remember exactly how long it's been, but it was when DDRMax was one of the latest DDR games you could buy. They had newer ones in arcades, but not on the market. I loved to play DDR. I had two, DDRMax and a PS1 game, DDR Konamix. I danced to them both all the time, and soon I was rather good. I got all the top scores and beat my sister so many times she gave up in annoyance. I progressed to standard and difficult modes, dancing Trick and Maniac. I got better and better with practice. I had so much fun dancing. I never in my wildest dreams, and my dreams were unbelievably wild, that this would happen. That I would be taken from my home and family to this place and forced to dance for a creature who calls himself a man and a lord. Hah!" she snorted.  
  
"Yes, that man on the horse. Who is he?" asked Holly.  
  
"He appears to prospective dancers as someone they've either created in their imaginations, someone they'd know and trust, or just as anyone who could get these innocent people to come with him. Sometimes he's appeared as a woman to lure men here. But his true name is Seamus. I don't know what he is, exactly, but it's evil. How did he appear to you?" she suddenly asked Holly.  
  
"As a mysterious knight, cloaked and medieval, on a snow-white horse. What about you?" she returned.  
  
"To me he appeared as...do you want a lot of detail?" she asked. Holly nodded. Celaeno continued, "He appeared as a handsome man with longish hair, white as the moon, and softly glowing red eyes. He wore a black tunic, gauntlets, and boots. The only other color he wore was the silver shirt under his tunic and silver leggings. He rode a beautiful night-black Arabian stallion with eyes as red as his rider's. He was a man from a dream I had, and a fantasy I created, named Jonathan. And that's how he will always appear to me now. And I hate him all the more for it. I have so much to hate him for."  
  
"Like what? You mean other than taking and keeping you here to dance for him?" asked Holly.  
  
"Among other things, that is one reason I hate him," agreed Celaeno. "But there are far worse things he's done to me. You see, I didn't start out dancing here. I was moved from a different place in the forest. He moved me here so he could see me from his castle. He admires me, he says, for my utter defiance and unbreakable spirit. I've found that, if I concentrate hard enough, I can dance my own moves to different music other than what he intends me to hear. He showed me my parents' deaths through some sort of scrying mirror. After that he showed my sister's, and the boy I had a crush on for many years, until everyone I had known and loved was dead and I had seen it. He was trying to break me, to destroy any hope I had left. 'Why do you still fight?' he asked. 'There's no one left to fight for. Why not just make it easier on yourself and just dance?' I told him there was still one person left to fight for. Me. I swore when I had seen the last of my loved ones die that I would be free again someday. I didn't know how, but I swore I would. That just made him admire me more. And did he tell you that the dancers here need nothing to live? If he did, he lied. He gives us some sort of cordial at the end of each day that we need to instantly regain strength and vigor, as well as to stay alive. I refused to take it, fighting the men who tried to give it to me. I made them drop and break the bottle they carried, so all the cordial spilled. I knew it was just temporary defiance, but it was worth it. Seamus himself came down to me after that. He said nothing, just a strange spell that caused my upper body to paralyze. I wanted to fight as he stabbed me brutally with a syringe filled with the cordial. It hurt, oh how it hurt! The place he stabbed me bled too freely. He had stabbed so hard that there was a larger cut. And then he moved the needle all around inside my arm! I still have a scar there, you can see it," she broke off and pointed to a quarter-sized mark on her left arm over the veins, and continued, "but I didn't let him know he hurt me. He looked thoughtful as he rode away. The next day he came to me with a smile that I knew meant trouble for me. 'What's he going to do to me today?' I thought. 'Another spell, perhaps another whipping?' For he whipped me without mercy once, at the beginning. I didn't cry out, though I couldn't keep from making sounds of pain. Seamus kept saying, "Just admit defeat. Just cry out loud and I'll stop. Show me you're broken. Show me you're in pain. I know you are! Give up! Submit, you damned bitch!" But I wouldn't. Well, not intentionally. I weakened eventually and cried out, but not because I was admitting defeat. Seamus knew that. That's why he didn't stop then, and he didn't treat my wounds. And I had to dance with those open whip lashes on my back. The other dancers didn't say a word. Not a damn word! They've all been broken and stay silent, always. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, he came to me and I wondered what he was going to do to me. He told me that I didn't just interest him anymore. I actually intoxicated him. I thought I was going to vomit when I heard that. He told me he found that he was rather lonely at the castle, and thought to take a queen. I told him that to have a queen, he had to first be a king. He just laughed and continued, saying that he could release me from the spell that keeps us all dancing. He told me I could be free again, if I just consented to become his wife. He would make me look older, closer to my real age, and I would have such wonderful things at the castle, jewels, gowns of silk and velvet, real food, a soft bed, and of course him. I couldn't believe I was hearing that. I wanted what he spoke of so badly, freedom, even if it didn't come with such luxuries. But the thought of what he would expect of me, as his wife, revolted me so. You know what I mean by that, yes?"  
  
"Yes," whispered Holly. "It's sickening."  
  
"Indeed," replied Celaeno as she continued. "I told him that I did long for my freedom, but if it meant becoming his, truly his, then it wasn't worth it. He was shocked, but I stayed strong on my answer. He asks every night, as he makes his rounds before he goes to bed. And I always tell him I'd rather die. I want Jonathan, not Seamus. I know that it's not Jonathan. Therefore I will not have him. Ever!" She sighed. "But sometimes I wonder why he came to me as Jonathan. There was another I would have trusted. My Angel. I believe I have-or at least had-a guardian angel. I saw him, felt him. I felt his presence, and him physically. I've felt his strong, invisible arms hold me close when I felt lost. I saw him too, in dreams and through my own waking eyes. He was magnificent. No, he is magnificent. I'm sure he's still here with me. That's another thought that keeps me sane, keeps me from breaking."  
  
"What does he look like?" asked Holly.  
  
"Have you ever seen the musical "The Phantom of the Opera"?" replied Celaeno.  
  
"It's my favourite!" said Holly.  
  
"Well, my Angel looks like Erik," said Celaeno. Upon seeing Holly's blank look, she added, "The Phantom. And I always liked how my father's name was the same as my Angel's." She smiled distantly, but sadly, while Holly tried to take in everything that Celaeno had told her. She couldn't believe how heartless this Seamus was. He had whipped her?! What was this monster that took delight in the suffering of, among countless other captive dancers, this innocent girl? Woman, she corrected herself. She's a woman, remember. Holly tried to think of something to say, something that would have some sort of meaning at a time like this.  
  
"Your name is so beautiful," was all that passed her lips. 'No, no, no, you idiot! She doesn't care about that now! Say something that might make her feel better!' she mentally chided herself. But she was wrong. Celaeno looked at her in surprise, and then smiled appreciatively.  
  
"Thank you," she replied. "It means 'The Dark One'. I've always liked it. It came from a book that my mother read to me when I was little. And thank you for listening to me. I've had no one to tell all that to up 'til now. Thank you."  
  
"Anytime," said Holly. The two young women smiled at each other as a strange friendship under unbearable conditions was formed.  
  
A/N: this is my first song fic, so be nice, and I'm open to suggestions! 


	2. Voices of Angels

A/N: sorry if I make my chapters a little long, I just thought that all I said there had to be said in one chapter. I'll try to control that in the future. I'm always open to ideas, and I love reviews!  
  
Voices of Angels The Forest at night is a beautiful thing to see, provided you're not a captive dancer there. Its name actually describes it well, for though it remains dark throughout the day, at night any and all light fades away, leaving the dancers to dance in pure blackness (hence its name, Dark Black Forest). The only lights that remain are the lit arrows the dancers dance upon. To see them flashing different colours through the blackness is like some sort of fantasy. However, Celaeno and Holly were, in fact, captive dancers so they really didn't give a damn about the scenery. They didn't give a damn about much except their freedom and their friendship. It was all they had left, really. As the lights began to fade, Celaeno told Holly that Seamus's lackeys would be by soon to pour reenergizing cordial down their throats. Sure enough she was right, but Holly had learned quickly not to doubt anything Celaeno had to say about the Forest and its evil tyrant ruler. A little after they had taken the cordial and felt reenergized, Celaeno said that Seamus would be by to make his rounds before he retired to his castle. A few minutes later he was. He still looked like the medieval knight on his white horse to Holly, which made her angry. She did wish that she could see what Jonathan looked like though, but she made no mention of this to Celaeno, for fear of hurting her. He smiled at Celaeno and dismounted before her.  
"Well Fire Spirit? Have you an answer for me?" he asked.  
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention the first five hundred times, what exactly was the question again?" replied Celaeno. Seamus's smile didn't falter.  
"Will you marry me, and be my eternal queen?" he asked.  
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that Hell's frozen over yet," she said shortly. Holly smiled admiringly.  
"Why do you refuse the love of a king?" Seamus persisted.  
"You are a king only in your imagination," Celaeno said scathingly. Seamus scowled for a moment, then hitched his smile up again.  
"Ah, yes, the fast tongue that never has anything polite to say," he noted. "What happened to the quick temper that used to accompany it?"  
"It's waiting for the right time. The time when it will destroy you, almost the way you've wanted to destroy me," she replied. "So find another one of these poor brain-washed dancers around us to take an interest in and let me be."  
"I cannot," Seamus overly-dramatically. "For I am consumed by my love and painful longing for you, only you!"  
"What would you know about true love and pain?" snapped Celaeno. "You who cause such pain to others without a care, how could such a monster truly love? Stop asking me, you'll just hear the same thing every night and you know this."  
"I'm just waiting," replied Seamus with a shrug.  
"Waiting for what?" demanded Celaeno. "For me to cave? To break and kneel before you, swearing to be yours? Not in this century, ask me in the next one, I'm going to live that long anyway."  
"There are other ways of getting what I want!" spat Seamus.  
"Temper, temper," Celaeno warned, wagging her finger at him as though he was a child who had misbehaved. Seamus just glowered at her, shot a look at Holly that she really didn't like, mounted his horse and rode off.  
"Well, I think that blew over better than it normally does," comment Celaeno off-handedly.  
"I think that we're in trouble," replied Holly. "Did you see the looks he gave us both before he left?"  
"I saw," replied Celaeno. "I care little about what happens to me now, but if you're in any danger I will do whatever it takes to protect you."  
"Thanks," said Holly with a smile. Celaeno returned the smile. "Is it possible for us to sleep?" Holly asked.  
"I haven't tried in a long while, but I think so," said Celaeno. "I think I'd like to, actually. I haven't in such a long while because I didn't want to dream. I was afraid that if I had dreams of freedom or someone I loved then I'd be driven insane. But maybe not. I want to dream again. Shall we try?"  
"Yeah, let's," replied Holly. "Good-night, I guess."  
"Good-night," said Celaeno. Both girls closed their eyes, though they wondered if they could sleep while they were still dancing. But sleep overcame them surprisingly quickly. Holly dreamed of dancing of her own accord in a meadow full of beautiful flowers, singing and laughing and sitting down to rest whenever she wanted. She smiled in her sleep, through her enchanted dance. Celaeno had a different kind of dream. In her dream she was walking through a castle. It was beautiful, but she knew that it was Seamus's. That made her wonder why she was so happy to be there. She kept walking, searching for something. Or someone. She soon found who she was looking for. Actually, it was two who's. One was handsome with softly glowing red eyes and hair as white as the moon, dressed in a black tunic, silver leggings, black boots, and a silver shirt. Beside him was a man whom Celaeno considered handsome in his own way. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and a black cloak. A white half-mask concealed part of his face. Both smiled when they saw Celaeno come in and they held out their arms to her. As soon as they touched her, she became older, around twenty-one or so. She looked down at herself in surprise and smiled gratefully up at them.  
'It's been a long time, hasn't it?' she asked.  
'It certainly has,' agreed Jonathan. 'But we're here now.'  
'Yes, but here with a purpose,' added Erik. 'There's something you should know.'  
'What is it? Can you save me and Holly and all the other dancers?' Celaeno asked, trying to get her hopes up too high.  
'If we could do that, we'd have done it years ago,' replied Jonathan sadly. 'However, we do feel that we will be able to help soon.'  
"What you need to know is that your new friend is in danger now,' Erik interjected, trying to get to the point.  
'What? Why?' asked Celaeno in surprise.  
'So Seamus can get what he wants,' replied Erik. 'I'm afraid he's going to threaten Holly to make you submit. But Jonathan and I are both sure that there is a way to defeat Seamus, free the dancers, and destroy the Forest. We're just not entirely sure how yet.'  
'Oh no,' said Celaeno softly. 'I should've known that he'd pull something like that. I can't let him hurt Holly because of me.'  
'Don't worry, we'll figure something out,' Jonathan assured her. 'We know Seamus can be defeated because we know what he is. There's got to be something in the library here that can help. We already have an idea to defeat him, we just don't know if it will work. There's got to be something in the library here that can help. As long as you're asleep, we can stay here undetected and see what we can find.'  
'I'll see what I can do about that,' Celaeno replied. 'But what is Seamus? Maybe I know something that'll help.'  
'Seamus is a...'began Erik, but he was cut off by a voice that surrounded and deafened them.  
'FOOLS! YOU'LL NEVER DEFEAT ME! AND SHE'LL NEVER ESCAPE! THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY! I AM TOO POWERFUL!' roared the voice. Celaeno covered her ears and doubled over under the sheer weight of the voice. Both Erik and Jonathan held her, trying to shield her from the voice. A piece of the ceiling broke off and fell on Celaeno, causing her to wake with a nasty start. She looked all around wildly, breathing hard. She finally calmed and looked over at Holly, who was still asleep. Celaeno knew that she hadn't had an ordinary dream. Her Angel and her fantasy were trying to warn her. She knew that she wouldn't let Holly get hurt, no matter what it meant happened to her. She looked sadly at her friend.  
"We've got to get out of here," she whispered. 


	3. Never Forsake Me, and I'll Never Forsake...

A/N: sorry it took so long for me to update, it's the dreaded Writer's Block! I haven't been able to update any of my many stories for the longest time, so I'm sorry if this one isn't that good. Oh and I don't own the song Celaeno sings, it's by Blind Guardian. By the way, if anyone reading this likes Zelda, I have a Zelda fic out called Serpent-Tongue, and no one's reviewed it yet, so if you want to check it out, that would be loverly.  
  
Never Forsake me, and I'll Never Forsake You  
  
Celaeno didn't sleep for the rest of the night. She was too worried. She knew that Seamus wasn't beyond or above threatening Holly to get to her, she had just prayed beyond all human reason that he wouldn't. But now she couldn't deny that Holly was in danger because of her. Seeing her Angels, as she thought of them, again, feeling them, hearing them, her heart ached unbearably to be free and with them. She had overcome this futile longing and pointless heartache long ago, but now they returned. She tried to will them away, but they wouldn't leave her. For the first time in many years, Celaeno began to cry. She cried for the rest of the night, and prayed that Seamus didn't find out. She knew he would, she just couldn't help but pray that he wouldn't. She finally stopped when she started to choke on her own tears as she danced, but the ache in her heart was eased. She was surprised to feel that her heart didn't hurt nearly as much as it had over the years, even when she had put aside all pain.  
'Mayhap I should not have stopped crying, if I feel so much better and more hopeful,' she thought. She quickly tried to compose herself as Holly woke up.  
"Celaeno are you all right?" she asked, noticing Celaeno's tear- streaked face.  
"Fine, I'm just fine, considering the circumstances," Celaeno replied, too quickly. Holly was not convinced.  
"Really Celaeno, if something's wrong you can tell me," she persisted. "I mean, I opened up to you, you can do the same with me..."  
  
"I'm FINE!" snapped Celaeno. Holly jerked back slightly, then looked coldly at Celaeno.  
"All right, keep your pain within then, if it makes you happy," she retorted and looked away. Celaeno looked back at her, hoping she would apologize, but she didn't.  
'Don't be stupid, she doesn't have to apologize, you do,' a voice in her head said. She sighed.  
"I'm sorry, Holly," she said softly. "I'm just upset, ok? I haven't cried in years, and I can't handle it as well as I normally could. I had a dream and in it I was warned that you're in danger because of me. I was told that Seamus would hurt you to get to me. I'm just confused about what I'm feeling. But I guess I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's not your fault," she said sadly. Holly looked at her again.  
"Then why didn't you just say that before?" she asked gently.  
"I couldn't. I didn't want to scare you," Celaeno replied.  
"It's okay. Really. I'm not afraid. If Seamus kills me, then I'm released from this hell, if he doesn't then I'm just dancing in a different spot. There's really nothing to worry about," Holly said. Celaeno managed a smile, and the girls kept dancing. To their surprise, Seamus showed up not too long after. Neither of the girls looked at him, just kept dancing.  
"Celaeno, I have decided that I'm not going to ask you the same question every night from now on," he announced.  
"Time, what is Time?" sang Celaeno, dancing a different dance that Holly had never seen before and was certainly not in any DDR game she had ever seen, still not looking at Seamus. "He saw it clearly, it's too late, it does not heal, it lets us forget. Time, what is Time? We'll never know! So don't take care when Time is Time again!"  
"I've decided this, because I'm going to ask you one last time, and you are going to say yes," Seamus continued, not listening to her.  
"And what gives you that inane idea?" asked Celaeno.  
"Because if it falls out otherwise, you'll deeply regret it," said Seamus.  
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Celaeno snorted. She received no reply. Seamus just nodded to his cronies, who took hold of Holly and carried her off, kicking and screaming. Suddenly Seamus had Celaeno's undivided attention. "Don't you dare hurt her," she snarled. Seamus just chuckled.  
"Oh I won't," he replied easily. "I won't as long as you give me the answer I want to hear. But don't rush yourself, I'm so generous and caring I'll give you time to think about it. You have until nightfall. When the moon rises, I'll have my guards come and collect you and bring you to my magnificent castle. There, you will give me your final answer. Maybe now that there's someone you have come to care about in danger, you'll actually give careful thought to my munificent proposal." With that, he mounted his horse and rode off. Celaeno just stared after him, hardly able to take in what had just happened. It was true, now she really did have to consider her options. She could always agree to Seamus, wait 'til he released Holly, and then kill herself. Or she could refuse him, and let him kill Holly and then she'd be free at least. But could she really bring herself to as good as order her friend's death? No. She knew she couldn't do that. The marriage-suicide plan was starting to look best, but whose to say that Seamus wouldn't just kill Holly afterwards just for spite? Maybe she could marry Seamus and then kill him. Yes, why should she and Holly die for him? That plan sounded good, but a million and one things could go wrong. She sighed in frustration.  
"Oh Angel, Jonathan, I wish you were here to tell me what I should do," she whispered. She closed her eyes, trying to see them in her mind, hear their voices telling her what was the right choice. She saw them all right, but heard nothing that she had not heard before. She opened her eyes again, and just wished that either her Angels would come and help her, or night would never fall again. That could not be, of course, nothing could stop the moon from rising over the blackened, diamond star-flecked sky. Usually, watching the moonrise was the only pleasure Celaeno got from her captivity. Now it only filled her with a sickened dread. Shortly after the moon rose, two of Seamus's lackeys showed up with Seamus's horse. They took hold of Celaeno, sat her on the horse, and led the horse to the castle. Celaeno noticed that she kept dancing in the air while she rode. Strange. She'd probably never stop dancing, unless she agreed to Seamus. And she would never do that. She desperately wished for her Angels.  
'You promised me you'd always be there for me if I got in trouble. You promised that when I was a child. Well, where are you? I'm in trouble, and you're not here! I never forgot about you, have you cast me away?' she thought wildly. Then she shook her head. 'Stop it, it's not their fault this happened. They'd be here if they could.' She looked up as the castle loomed in the distance. The time was almost come. They stopped in front of the great double doors and she was pulled off the horse and half-carried, still dancing, into the castle. She was taken down many long halls to a throne room and stood in front of Seamus. She stood there, still dancing, in silence. Seamus finally spoke.  
"So, have you reached your decision?" he asked.  
"And what if I haven't?" replied Celaeno.  
"Then your little friend pays for it," said Seamus. "Have you come to your decision?"  
"I have," Celaeno said, a thousand-ton weight in her stomach as she spoke.  
"And what would it be? To save your friend and be mine, or refuse me for the last time and send your friend to her doom?" asked Seamus.  
"My decision is...to challenge you," she replied. Seamus blinked in surprise, then laughed.  
"You can't," he snickered. "That's not one of your options. I won't accept a challenge from you. Besides, what good would it do you? You've been in my power for too long, I know all of your dances and no matter what I have complete control over your movements. You couldn't possibly beat me like that."  
"No, but I am under no such spell," came a voice that made Celaeno's face light up like a candle and Seamus's face contort with shock and fury. "I can beat you."  
  
A/N: ha ha, I'm not nice. I love leaving cliffhangers, I love suspense and mystery. And hey, the sooner someone reviews, the sooner I upload. Keep that in mind ;-). 


	4. Shattering the Spell

Disclaimer: I don't own the Nine Muse. That would be the Greeks. Oh and I don't own the song sung and I don't know how to spell fahrdarren (?) like from "Luck of the Irish". I don't own the idea either, but if anyone knows how to spell it, I'd appreciate you helping me out.  
  
Shattering the Spell  
  
"You?!" cried Seamus. "Not you! How could you come here?! You can't break through the barrier!"  
"Quite obviously, I can," Jonathan said quietly, with a careless shrug. "I'm here to save Celaeno and the other poor people trapped here."  
"Never," spat Seamus. "You can't have her! You can't save any of them, least of all her!"  
"Can't I?" replied Jonathan, still speaking softly. "She may not be able to dance you, but I can. Verily, I can save her."  
"You? Dance against me? Hah! The very idea is laughable!" snorted Seamus contemptuously.  
Jonathan just shrugged again. "I understand that you're afraid of losing, but really," he said pointedly.  
"Me? Afraid of losing to you?" scoffed Seamus. "I could beat you with my eyes closed, even were our dances judged by the Nine Muses themselves!"  
"Then do you accept my challenge?" asked Jonathan. "I dance against you, and the best two out of three wins the freedom of Celaeno, her friend Holly, and all the dancers in this forest, judged by the Nine Muses?"  
"I accept!" said Seamus impetuously. "Oh Muses!" Immediately the Nine Muses appeared.  
"We are prepared to judge the competition of dances that shall take place here," the first said.  
"Excellent," declared Seamus, turning to Jonathan. "You think yourself to be ready for this?"  
"I know myself to be ready for this," Jonathan replied. "There's just one more thing. Take on your true form. The form of a fahrdarren. Show Celaeno what you really are."  
Seamus just looked at him before saying, "You know full well that she wouldn't like what she'd see."  
"Do you think I like what I see now any better than whatever you truly are?" asked Celaeno. Seamus looked at her, then smiled sinisterly.  
"As you wish," he sneered. So saying, he passed his hand before his face at it, the rest of his body, and his clothes changed. His skin became a mottled, sickly green. His hair was bright orange-yellow-red. His fingernails were like claws, chipped and disgustingly filthy. He was no longer wearing the tunic getup, but a loose red shirt and a pair of black leggings and boots. His clothes were the cleanest, most pleasant thing about him. Celaeno made a revolted face and tried to draw back from him. He smirked at her.  
"You see Lae?" asked Jonathan gently. "This is what has imprisoned you and countless others here and appeared as me."  
"I can see why," Celaeno replied.  
"Shall we just begin so I can defeat you and return to my former matters?" said Seamus. Jonathan made no reply, just briefly inclined his head. Seamus clapped his hands twice and glowing arrows appeared on the floor beneath the two. Celaeno looked at Jonathan, knowing he knew what he was doing, but still apprehensive.  
"Wait," she said. Seamus and Jonathan looked at her. "Where's Holly? I want her to be here too to see this." Seamus scowled, but snapped his fingers and Holly appeared next to Celaeno.  
"Celaeno? What's going on? Who's that, is that Jonathan? Ugh, what is that? It's hideous!" she said.  
"It's Seamus," said Celaeno quietly. She quickly filled Holly in on everything she had missed. "And now there's nothing left to do but just dance here, wait, and hope for the best," she finished.  
"I thought you had given up on hope," commented Holly quietly.  
"I've decided to give it another try," replied Celaeno. Music began to play, other than the music they heard in their minds, and they watched as a monster and an angel started to dance. Their dances were unlike any DDR dance either of the girls had seen before, with jumps and spins and such intricacy it made them dizzy trying to follow them. Finally the music stopped and the men looked to the Muses for judgment. The Muses conversed amongst themselves for a moment, then turned to pass judgment.  
"We deem Jonathan the winner of the first dance," the first said. Holly and Celaeno cheered quietly, Jonathan just smiled, and Seamus cursed.  
"Don't dwell on it," he said shortly. "Let the next dance begin!" And so it did, catching Jonathan off guard. He missed the first few beats of the song, while Seamus hit them perfectly. The two danced, a faster and harder song than the first. It lasted longer too, but that could have just been because the girls were so anxious for the winner to be determined. After an eternity the music stopped and the dancing with it. The panting dancers looked for a verdict from the Muses once again. And once again they conversed amongst themselves before the second stepped forward.  
"We find Seamus the winner of the second dance," she said. "Now let the third and final all-determining dance begin." Seamus grinned to himself as the music began to play. The new music, however, didn't seem to have a danceable beat to it. Seamus just stood for a moment trying to find a beat, while Jonathan tried to dance without one. However, once Seamus had found a beat, he danced better than Jonathan. Celaeno knew that if Jonathan lost, it was all over. She had to help him somehow, but how? And why did she feel she knew the song? And who was singing...?  
  
"Tomo-o-o-row will take us away!  
  
Fa-ar from home,  
  
No one will ever know our names!  
  
But the bards' songs will remain..." sang Holly.  
"Tomo-o-o-row will take it away  
  
The fear of today,  
  
It will be gone..." sang Celaeno.  
"Due to our magic songs," the girls harmonized. Jonathan smiled as he found the beat and danced better than before, better than Seamus. The girls kept singing throughout the very long song, and Jonathan used their voices as a sort of metronome. Seamus was thrown off by their voices and fell out of step. The song finally ended, running longer than the first two songs put together. Jonathan smiled at the girls before looking one last time to the Muses,  
"We deem Jonathan the winner of the third and final dance, as well as the whole contest," one said.  
"NO!!!" roared Seamus in fury, looking uglier than before.  
"Yes," said Jonathan. "You lost, therefore the dancers here go free and Celaeno goes with me."  
"No one escapes the Forest!" snarled Seamus. "NO ONE!!!!!"  
"No one except everyone," said one of the Muses. "You lost Seamus. And we've been meaning to stop you for quite some time now, we just couldn't get through your barrier. Now that we're here though, we're going to have a little talk." Seamus looked at them as they circled him, scolding him and saying things no one but they and Seamus could understand. Jonathan walked over to Celaeno and Holly, put his arm around Celaeno's waist to support her, and whispered, "I release you." Instantly she stopped dancing, and would have fallen had Jonathan not been holding her. She held on to him, physically incapable of supporting herself anymore.  
"Don't worry, I've got you," Jonathan said gently. He held her close for a moment, then extended her to someone else standing near. To Celaeno's surprise, another pair of strong, loving arms took her and held her close while Jonathan freed Holly. Celaeno looked up into the eyes of...  
"Erik? Angel?" she said softly. She looked back and forth between Erik and Jonathan, and then said, "All my life I thought you were just imaginary friends, or angels or hallucinations. But you're real! You're real. You're...real..." her voice trailed off as she began to cry joyously into Erik's strong shoulder. She could feel him smile, and she did the same as he ran his gloved fingers through her hair lovingly.  
"Shh, little one," he said. "It's all right. We're here now. You're free. You and your friend. There's no need to cry. It's over."  
"I know," she whispered. "I'm just so happy now. I haven't been happy in more years than I can remember, and it hurts but it's so wonderful. It's real now, it's not just a dream anymore..." A beautiful blackness blanketed her eyes, and she felt herself being lifted and flying away with an angel singing softly to her as she drifted into that wonderful darkness that erased the pain and left only the warm love resonating from her Angels that enveloped her, protecting her from anyone else who would take her from them.  
  
A/N: wow, I never thought my stories were this popular. I mean, I know people liked The Other Angel a lot, but the reviews I've received are so touching. Thanks a million! And no, this is NOT the end! I still have a few more ideas in this noggin of mine, and there's going to be at least one more chapter. Ideas, comments, and reviews are always welcome. 


	5. Home At Last

Disclaimer: I don't own the song lyric, that would be Blind Guardian's.  
  
Home At Last  
  
Celaeno woke up confused. The last thing she remembered was finally being released from the spell that kept her dancing and passing out in her Angel's arms. So where was she now? She felt like she knew the strange room she was in, but couldn't quite place it. She started to sit up, only to fall back again by a wave of dizziness. Everything spun for a moment, then settled back into focus again. Unable to do anything else for lack of strength, she closed her eyes again. She didn't really expect to fall asleep again, but her eyes weren't finished resting. She didn't even open them when she heard a door open and someone-no, two someones-walk in.  
"Still asleep then, Lae?" asked a familiar quiet voice. She opened her eyes and smiled up at Jonathan and Erik.  
"Not really, just incapable of doing anything else at the moment," she replied. Her friends laughed. "What happened? Where are we?" she asked.  
  
"What happened was that you passed out," said Erik. Celaeno gave him a look. "Oh you wanted to know what happened after that?" asked Erik innocently. Celaeno just looked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "All right then," Erik said. "After you fainted, Seamus was still being scolded by the Muses. You can imagine that he didn't like that much. So he tried to destroy the Forest and all the dancers in it. We had precious little time, but Jonathan, Holly, and I, with the help of the Muses, managed to free the other dancers and send them home. It was kind of like one of your action/adventure video games, if you remember them."  
"I remember," said Celaeno softly. Erik continued.  
"Well, we were still in the Forest with nowhere to go and moments before the Forest was destroyed. You see, we couldn't go back to the manor where you used to live, it passed to your cousins when you disappeared and your sister never had children. And we were rather certain that your family wouldn't believe it if you showed up out of the blue after seven-in-fifty years, completely unharmed and without an explanation as to where you were the whole time. So we brought you here."  
"I was gone for fifty-seven years?!" gasped Celaeno.  
"I'm afraid so," said Jonathan gently. Celaeno looked at him, wondering why he didn't think this was a big deal. 'Oh right, Jonathan never raises his voice, I had forgotten,' she thought.  
"Oh my God," she said faintly.  
"That's what we thought you'd say," said Jonathan. "But I believe you also asked where we are, so I shall answer that for you. When you were little, and we were your imaginary friends, do you remember when we'd play Princess in the Castle?"  
Celaeno smiled at the mention of her favourite make-believe game and said, "I never stopped thinking about it." Jonathan smiled and continued.  
"Well then, you'll remember the castle of course. When you were little you thought it was real, but when you grew up you decided it was just your imagination. You preferred, though, to think of it as real. Well, it was. Is. This is the castle where we used to play. You see dearest, we are every bit as real as you." He paused to let all he had said sink in, then added, "We figured it was the best place to come, since we had nowhere else to go and it would be familiar and hopefully welcome to you. I hope we were correct in assuming so."  
"You couldn't have made a better assumption," replied Celaeno. "Now I know why this place feels so familiar, so...homey. That's why I hear the delighted laughter of a small girl from many years past echoing faintly in this room. That's why, for the first time since I can remember, I feel like I'm home." Jonathan and Erik smiled at her.  
"You are home," Erik said. "We are home. We are where we will be forever." Celaeno smiled again at the memory of the song Erik was reciting lines from. "We guessed that you might want to stay here for a while at least."  
"I never want to leave, now that I've finally come back to this place. I don't want to lose it again. I don't want to lose you again," she said.  
"In all accuracy, we lost you," said Erik. "But that's the furthest thing from important right now."  
"Oh wait a minute, what happened to Holly?" asked Celaeno suddenly. "She made it our too, right?"  
"Of course she did," Jonathan said reassuringly. "Don't worry about her, she's fine. We wouldn't have left her there."  
"Good," said Celaeno, relaxing. She looked around and smiled at a private thought.  
"What?" asked Erik.  
"Just something I used to associate with this place," replied Celaeno.  
"And what might that be?" asked Jonathan.  
"A line from a song," said Celaeno, and sang, "I know where the stars glow! Skies unclouded. Sweet the water runs, my friend..." she let her voice trail off before adding, "The rest of the song is about the curse of an Elven race from one of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, and not so pleasant as the one line, but still an interesting song. When I was little, I always thought that the stars glowed brighter here than anywhere else. That's why that line made me think of this place. This place that's been in my dreams every time I dared to dream in the Forest."  
"Well you needn't be afraid to dream now," said Jonathan soothingly. "We'll chase away your nightmares. Seamus will never find you again. He can never torment your sleep ever."  
"I know," said Celaeno, smiling gratefully at her guardian angels. Then she realized something that she wondered why she didn't realize before. "I sound different," she said. "Why?"  
"Because you are different," replied Erik. "Look for yourself." And he handed her a black and gold hand mirror with gold roses painted on the back. Celaeno looked at herself and saw the reflection of a woman, not a teenage girl. "We didn't want to make you look as old as you really are, but we weren't quite sure how you wanted to look, so we settled between the teenage self you were trapped in and early adulthood. You, of course, make the final decision as to what you look like."  
Celaeno thought for a moment before saying, "Right now, I'd just like to be an exhausted teenager who's ready to sleep for another fifty-seven years." Jonathan and Erik laughed together, their laughter blending into a song more beautiful than any sound Celaeno had ever heard, not unlike the way a mother's calming voice sounds to a child in the middle of a horrific nightmare.  
"We can do that," Jonathan said, as he bent down and placed his cool hand on Celaeno's forehead, closed his eyes for a moment, then pulled his hand away. She felt a strange tingling throughout her body, then a pulling, shrinking feeling. When that stopped, she looked into the mirror again and saw her fourteen-year-old self gazing back at her with sleepy eyes that still held the wisdom that Holly had seen, but the pain had now faded to a mere memory. She sighed and settled back against the pillows she was lying on.  
"Why don't you go to sleep, sweetheart," said Erik gently. "There will be time enough to talk about everything tomorrow. And you'll have more energy then as well. Go to sleep."  
Celaeno nodded tiredly. She couldn't remember what it was like to sleep in a bed, a real bed, but it felt wonderful in waking at least. "Please sing for me Angel," she murmured.  
"Of course," said Erik. He bent down and kissed her forehead, Jonathan following suit.  
"Good-night, little one," Jonathan said softly. Celaeno fell fast asleep smiling and listening to her angels sing an old, familiar lullaby to her. All night, she dreamed of walking away from the past with her angels beside her, walking on to a brighter future.  
~THE END~ 


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